First time denied charging at dealer

[AeroEng]

I purchased my Mach-e at a dealer in northeast MD, about 70 miles from my house because we had a family friend who worked there. I haven’t been back for over a year, but last Saturday we were visiting family and had a few minutes to spare, so I dropped in to grab a quick charge. I have charged at probably over 10 Ford dealers in MD, DE, VA and PA and have never had an issue. But this time, the charger cable had a lock on it. I walked in to the showroom and asked why I could not charge and they said, “we are not setup for public charging yet.” “But, I purchased the car here and your charger is right there ready to go, you just have to unlock it.” He again repeated his line. I was furious. When they sold it to me, I was told I could charge at any Ford dealership with a charger, and that has been the case every time except this time, at the dealer I bought it from. Anyone else experience this? Any Ford policy on this or is it up to the dealer?

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[SWO]

What dealer? It wasn't Norris was it?

 

[Deleted member 19354]

I purchased my Mach-e at a dealer in northeast MD, about 70 miles from my house because we had a family friend who worked there. I haven’t been back for over a year, but last Saturday we were visiting family and had a few minutes to spare, so I dropped in to grab a quick charge. I have charged at probably over 10 Ford dealers in MD, DE, VA and PA and have never had an issue. But this time, the charger cable had a lock on it. I walked in to the showroom and asked why I could not charge and they said, “we are not setup for public charging yet.” “But, I purchased the car here and your charger is right there ready to go, you just have to unlock it.” He again repeated his line. I was furious. When they sold it to me, I was told I could charge at any Ford dealership with a charger, and that has been the case every time except this time, at the dealer I bought it from. Anyone else experience this? Any Ford policy on this or is it up to the dealer?

Did they thank you for your business? Sorry. I asked my dealership the same question. “Please ask but our policy is “Any Ford Ev” can charge with them. They could not speak for others. One would think it’s a good sales tool. Charge up and let me sell you a new car.

 

[AeroEng]

What dealer? It wasn't Norris was it?

Plaza Ford Bel Air

 

[AliRafiee]

I don’t blame them. They don’t have a charging infra outside of keeping their own EVs on the lot charged.

What the salesman told you when you bought the car was a white lie to get you to feel better about signing on the dotted line.

 

[AeroEng]

I don’t blame them. They don’t have a charging infra outside of keeping their own EVs on the lot charged.

What the salesman told you when you bought the car was a white lie to get you to feel better about signing on the dotted line.

Except doing a search on the Blue Oval Charge network shows they do provide charging for free. False.

 

[Homestead]

Well if it had a lock on it they weren't using it to keep their own cars charged. Was at two different Ford dealers last week and they both had construction under way for adding multiple charge stations.

 

[Mach1E]

Except doing a search on the Blue Oval Charge network shows they do provide charging for free. False.

Yeah if they’re advertising free and they told you you could charge for free when you bought their car there…… it should be pretty cut and dry.

It’s not like you’re abusing it, showing up every day and eating all the free doughnuts and drinking their coffee.

Just a guess but someone else probably abused the free charger which is why the lock showed up.

I’m not surprised that some dealers wouldn’t offer free charging, but if they’re advertising it, totally different story.

 

[JRSNoVa]

Lesson 1,000,000+ of why you never trust anything you're told at a car dealer.

 

[Guss-E 2021]

As more and more brands (and their dealers) start selling BEVs and more models come available, this is the sort of thing that will send existing and would be customers elsewhere.

Right now the US dealership industry is still skating along on the past. But I am seeing a noticeable increase in the number of BEVs on the road. Fall/winter is not typically peak car buying time around here either.

Not at what I'd call a tipping point yet but the trajectory is still moving upwards. Maybe not the smartest time to get a rep as unfriendly towards BEV owners. Especially when they bought the damn thing from you in the first place.

 

[Markguyver]

IInteresting discussion. I did notice that my local Ford dealer where I bought my Mach E is putting in a multiple position charger right out front of the dealership. Hopefully this is a trend.

 

[RickMachE]

Model e dealers are required to have a specific number of level 3 chargers (2024 sometime), and some level 2 chargers.

Nobody is required to give anybody free charging.

If you charge at a charger, and it's locked, and PlugShare indicates it isn't, you should leave a review (you did) AND submit a change so everyone can see it's not publicly accessible.

I do scratch my head though. You say you had a few minutes to spare, so you thought you'd grab a charge. This is a level 2 charger. PlugShare doesn't specify the speed, but let's be generous and say it's 48amps. You sit there for 1/2 hour and gain around 5kW, or maybe 15 miles of range.

Am I missing something?

You mention charging at around 10 dealers across multiple states. If they only have level 2 chargers, unless there are no DC fast chargers around, why do you charge there?

Most car dealers today that have DC fast chargers are around 25kW or below. Barely worth stopping at, even if free. Level 2? Can't imagine it.

 

[Runningslow]

Call the BEV team. Let them know that the Ford dealer that shows free charging in the FordPass is no longer allowing charging at their location. At minimum, they can remove the dealer location from the list of public chargers. Maybe they can contact the dealer in the process.

 

[737flyer]

I’ve gotten free charges at Jeep, Cadillac and this week Buick.

 

[Zigma51]

My ford dealer used to let me free charge too, but then they moved it over to the Nissan side at the same dealership and now I have to pay....

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